Postmortem Production of Ethanol and Factors that Influence Interpretation

Abstract

Ethanol analysis is the most frequently performed assay in forensic toxicology laboratories. Interpretation of postmortem ethanol findings are often confounded by postmortem production of ethanol. Many species of bacteria, yeast, and molds are capable of producing ethanol from a variety of substrates. The probability of postmortem ethanol synthesis increases as storage temperature and the interval between death and autopsy increases. It is often difficult to distinguish between postmortem ethanol production and antemortem alcohol ingestion. This review presents a discussion of the criteria for the identification of postmortem ethanol synthesis and factors to consider in the interpretation of postmortem ethanol findings. The criteria include case history, condition of the specimens, types of microbes present, atypical fluid and tissue distribution of ethanol, the concentration of ethanol present, and the detection of other alcohols and volatiles. With careful consideration of all the information available, a valid interpretation of the source of ethanol, whether it be from antemortem ingestion or postmortem production, can be made.

Molecular Species of the Alcohol Biomarker Phosphatidylethanol in Human Blood Measured by LC-MS

“…A main drawback with PEth is the risk for postsampling production on storage of ethanol-containing samples, also when frozen at Ϫ20°C as demonstrated in this and previous publications (32,33 ), which could generate false-positive results. This risk is especially serious in postmortem examinations, because even if the deceased subject had not ingested alcohol before death, artifactual ethanol formation between time of death and autopsy due to microbial action is a common problem (36,37 ). For that reason, special precaution related to handling and Comparison of total PEth concentrations for 21 blood samples determined by the LC-ESI-MS method and an HPLC method (20 ) that is routinely employed for PEth testing.…”

Vitreous Humor: A Short Review on Post-mortem Applications

“…If alcohol abuse could be detected using long-term biomarkers, the role of alcohol as an underlying cause of death could be revealed more efficiently [91]. VH has been suggested as an alternative specimen, because of its unique properties [11,95,96].…”

A study of ethyl glucuronide in post-mortem blood as a marker of ante-mortem ingestion of alcohol

“…Post mortem formation of ethanol is a common problem in forensic toxicology (82)(83)(84)(85)(86)(87)(88).…”